Two years from now  if college baseball coaches'' recommendations are passed at the NCAA''s January convention  we''ll just be moving into the thick of the Big Ten race on May 1.

   You know, that period when the sun becomes persistent against Midwestern clouds, when the echo of horsehide to bat reminds of warmer times, when Coke is preferred to steaming coffee, when sweat replaces numb fingers.

   As it is, in what will someday be known as the "dark ages," Itch Jones'' Fighting Illini look up today to see one  and only one  grand weekend of fun and games at the ball park.

   Privately, secretly, the Illini have already played all but four of their league contests. So, this is UI fans'' one and only opportunity to crawl out of the woodwork and participate in a playoff-type chance to reach the promised land, the four-team Big Ten tourney.

   Jones'' teams have qualified for just two playoffs in six years. Now 13-11, Illinois is one of four teams at plus-.500 in the league, and will be closing out vs. Northwestern, 8-12, on Friday, Saturday (doubleheader) and Sunday.

   The good news: Slumbering Illini hitters are rising with the temperatures, Jones is finally satisfied with infield replacements for 1996 sluggers Josh Klimek and Brian McClure, the pitching rotation is set with the rise of Creighton transfer Tom Zidlicky, and the team is on an eight-game win streak.

   The bad news: No foe gets more inspired in a spoiler role against the state university than the Wildcats, and all six teams directly below Illinois have eight games to play, creating room for drastic last-gasp improvements.

Key win: Minnesota comeback

   "It''s great to play games that mean something in baseball weather," said Jones. "The turnaround game was the first one at Minnesota last Friday when they brought in their ace reliever, and (Champaign''s) Danny O''Neill hit a two-run homer in the eighth and D.J. Svihlik won it (5-4) with a homer in the ninth. We hadn''t been aggressive at the plate. We were taking too many pitches. At Minnesota, we finally started getting some hits that counted.

   "This is the same place we went two years ago and didn''t score a run for 27 2/3 innings. We finally scored on a bases-loaded hit-batsman with two outs in the last inning of the fourth game. To me, winning four straight at Minnesota was a remarkable accomplishment."

   A ringleader in bringing the squad together is Aaron Nieckula, junior catcher from the same Fenwick High School that has Illini basketball coaches circling for prep cager Corey Maggette.

   "We were playing without intensity," said Nieckula, "particularly in our midweek games. Our goal was just to get back to .500. Then the two homers sparked us in the first game at Minnesota, and we took the doubleheader Saturday."

   Decatur''s T.J. Jackson, nephew of former National League batting champ Bill Madlock, launched two three-run homers in Saturday''s 5-3, 5-1 sweep.

   Even so, Jones reminded that if the Illini lost Sunday, Minnesota would be 9-8 and the Illini would be trailing at 12-12. That''s when Zidlicky stepped up to earn Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors while the Illini exploded for nine runs.

   "We had a dismal outlook prior to last week," said Nieckula. "Now we''re going into a weekend with real meaning for us. It makes for an exciting atmosphere. And if we get to the playoffs, there''ll be no clear-cut favorite. It''ll be wide open for the NCAA berth."

Jones fields a youthful team

   Youth is the trademark of Jones'' seventh UI team, the senior class destroyed by signed recruits and others turning pro. Pitcher Brian Hecht, 4-6, is the only contributing senior.

   "We have a second baseman (Jon Anderson) at shortstop, a third baseman (Svihlik) at second, and a second baseman (Craig Marquie) at third," joked Jones, who also moved leadoff man Todd McClure from second to left field.

   "At first base, we are platooning two guys (Kevin Rudden and Jon Hall) from the same high school in Colorado (Cheery Creek). It''s amazing the way things work out sometimes."

   New Jersey''s Rhodes twins, Dusty and Dan, are batting over .300 as junior outfielders. The only other junior in the batting order is Nieckula. Marquie, team batting leader, is a rookie who once earned Catholic League football honors at Kankakee Bishop McNamara.

   Based on its youth, this appears to be a team on the upswing. But it''ll be a setback if the Illini don''t prevail in the grand opportunity vs. NU this weekend.

   Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette.